SB 10.36.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यशोदाया: सुतां कन्यां देवक्या: कृष्णमेव च । रामं च रोहिणीपुत्रं वसुदेवेन बिभ्यता । न्यस्तौ स्वमित्रे नन्दे वै याभ्यां ते पुरुषा हता: ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

yaśodāyāḥ sutāṁ kanyāṁ devakyāḥ kṛṣṇam eva ca rāmaṁ ca rohiṇī-putraṁ vasudevena bibhyatā nyastau sva-mitre nande vai yābhyāṁ te puruṣā hatāḥ

Synonyms

yaśodāyāḥ — of Yaśodā ; sutām — the daughter ; kanyām — the female child ; devakyāḥ — of Devakī ; kṛṣṇam — Kṛṣṇa ; eva ca — also ; rāmam — Balarāma ; ca — and ; rohiṇī — putram — the son of Rohiṇī ; vasudevena — by Vasudeva ; bibhyatā — who was afraid ; nyastau — placed ; sva — mitre — with his friend ; nande — Nanda Mahārāja ; vai — indeed ; yābhyām — by which two ; te — your ; puruṣāḥ — men ; hatāḥ — have been killed .

Translation

[Nārada told Kaṁsa:] Yaśodā’s child was actually a daughter, and Kṛṣṇa is the son of Devakī. Also, Rāma is the son of Rohiṇī. Out of fear, Vasudeva entrusted Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to his friend Nanda Mahārāja, and it is these two boys who have killed your men.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

[Nārada told Kaṁsa:] Yaśodā's child was actually a daughter, and Kṛṣṇa is the son of Devakī. Also, Rāma is the son of Rohiṇī. Out of fear, Vasudeva entrusted Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to his friend Nanda Mahārāja, and it is these two boys who have killed your men. KB 10.36.17 “You are to be killed by the eighth son of Vasudeva,” Nārada told Kaṁsa. “That eighth son is Kṛṣṇa. You were misled by Vasudeva into believing that the eighth issue of Vasudeva was a daughter. Actually, the daughter was born to Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda Mahārāja, and Vasudeva exchanged his son for the daughter, so you were misled. Kṛṣṇa is the son of Vasudeva, as is Balarāma. Being afraid of your atrocious nature, Vasudeva has tactfully hidden Them in Vṛndāvana, out of your sight.” Nārada further informed Kaṁsa, “Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma have been living incognito in the care of Nanda Mahārāja. All the asuras, your companions who were sent to Vṛndāvana to kill different children, were killed by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.”

Purport

Kaṁsa had been led to believe that Kṛṣṇa was the son of Yaśodā and that Devakī’s eighth child had been a daughter. The identity of Devakī’s eighth child was extremely important to Kaṁsa because a prophecy had foretold that her eighth child would kill him. Here Nārada informs the King that the eighth child of Devakī was the formidable Kṛṣṇa, thus implying that the prophecy should be taken very seriously. Having received this information, Kaṁsa obviously will now do everything in his power to kill Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

What did he say to Kamsa? The famous eight child of Devaki, a female, was actually the daughter of Yasoda. Krsna, commonly known as Nanda’s son, was actually the son of Devaki. Balarama, thought to be Nanda’s son, was actually the son of Rohini. "If Krsna and Balarama are Vasudeva’s children, who brought them to Vraja?" "They were brought by Vasudeva."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

Though he is the son of Rohiṇī, Balarāma was actually in the womb of Devakī first. Nārada explained this. Out of fear, Vasudeva entrusted the children to Nanda. Since he is afraid of you, you should not kill him. Nanda is Vasudeva’s friend (sva-mitre). They have very strong ties of affection, or they are friends (mitre) and relatives (sva). Vai means that it is well known. Since you do not know about this, you are foolish. Nārada spoke in this way to gain Kaṁsa’s trust. They have killed your friends (puruṣāḥ). He makes this statement to testify to the facts he has just related. By indicating the two boys’ great strength, he made Kaṁsa constantly frightened of them.